Chapter 845 — Rebuilding the Heavenly Palace
The Herdsman of the Wasteland · Page 1 of 5
"No need to chase him!"
The Qingyun Sect Master called back the old Daoists who were about to give chase, and shook his head: "That man is too fast, and he changes endlessly — he can alter his face at any moment. You will never catch him, and even if you did, you would not recognize him. Let the matter rest here. Do not probe further, do not spread word of it. One of you go and look for Junior Brother Feihe. Just now the old thief took Feihe's appearance; Feihe must be trussed up tight and stuffed away somewhere, heaven knows where."
At once a Daoist went to search for Feihe, while the other elders hurried to the Qingyun Sect Master's side and asked, "Just now the star signs transformed and the Lord of Heaven came back to life, activating the formation — what was that about?"
"Naturally, the Dao Ancestor made his move."
The Qingyun Sect Master said calmly: "Jingping's Overlord Body and the Heavenly Court's envoy both wish to be rid of the other, so that the Dao Ancestor is left with no choice. But what manner of being is the Dao Ancestor? Would he let two juniors decide his own future and fate? That is not the act of a wise man."
The Daoists were shaken to the core: "What does the Sect Master mean?"
"The Dao Ancestor has taken them up to the Heavenly Court; naturally he will make the decision himself. We need not worry about the future of the Qingyun Sect — the Dao Ancestor will arrange it clearly for us."
The Qingyun Sect Master said, "All we need to think about now is how to settle what comes after."
A Daoist said hurriedly, "Yuchenzi has already taken men to make preparations; he said he would prepare for both outcomes."
The Qingyun Sect Master made inquiries, and could not help praising him: "Yuchenzi has done very well. The Heavenly Court produces talent in every generation; even in a place as small as Jingping there are so many outstanding geniuses. Fortunately, our Qingyun Heaven also has a younger generation that can stand comparison with them, so we are not left too far behind."
Beyond Qingyun Heaven, the Daoist "Feihe" sped through the air with the little Daoist boy, and soon they were tens of thousands of li from Qingyun Heaven. Again and again he transformed, changing into different appearances — now man, now woman, now old, now young; sometimes he even took on a half-divine form — and he also brought out all manner of garments, until the little Daoist boy was left staring slack-jawed.
This old man not only changed his own shape at will, but was also a master of the art of transformation; he altered the boy's appearance more than ten times as well.
"Now we are safe. The Daoists of Qingyun Heaven cannot catch up with us."
The old man resumed his true form, and with his hands behind his back, his face simple and rustic, he circled Lord Yutian, sizing him up from head to foot. Sure enough, as Shen Mu had guessed, this old man was none other than the Lame Old Man.
Lord Yutian's heart was full of unease.
"A fine seedling indeed."
The Lame Old Man sighed in admiration: "You learn anything quickly — quicker even than that wicked boy Shen. Let us go thieving together, light-fingered masters, and rob the whole world clean!"
Lord Yutian shook his head in alarm: "I have to go find my brother..."
"What do you want with him?"